Wakefield, my hometown (City, actually) has................................
- The Chantry Chapel (1 of 4 remaining bridge chapels in the country, dating to approx 1350)
- Wakefield Cathedral, dates from the mid 1400's, it has the highest steeple in Yorkshire, 4th highest in England.
- Stanley Ferry Aquaduct. The only cast-iron suspension aquaduct in Europe (1839)
It carries the Aire & Calder Navigation canal across the River Calder.
Visually, practically identical to Sydney Harbour bridge (& accepted as a 'working model' for the design)
- First privately built & owned water tower (1640) to supply Heath Hall - still standing, but not working
- Worlds first public railway, one on which anyone could place their own wagon (Lake Lock Rail-Road)
- First 'new-town'/suburb; St Johns, built almost in its entirety circa 1830
- Countries largest excavation, at the time, the Notton cutting for the Barnsley Canal (George Stevenson was the engineer)
- Longest, most complete Manorial Court Roll in the country (almost complete from 1274- 1920's)
- Stanley (my village) a unique bridge which carried 2 railways, and the road over another railway.
- Oldest railway tunnel in the country, dating to the 1790's (Flockton, near HMP New Hall)
- One of the earliest town by-passes (now, Ings Road) built by Act Of Parliament in 1831.
- Westgate (area of the City centre) has the oldest surviving purpose built banking offices in the country - outside of London (closed now, as a bank)
- Wakefield was the most inland port that could build sea-going vessels.
- Westgate Chapel may have the oldest known catacombs under a place of worship (before anyone responds, Churches & Cathedrals have Crypts)
- Stanley Royd ( was called West Riding Luantic Asylum) one of the first rates financed asylums in the country.
-Stanley Royd is responsible for the phrase
'As mad as a hatter'. One of the first patients was a milliner, Mercury fumes from the process affected the brain & caused severe affects.
- The hymn
'Onward Christian Soldiers' was wrote & first performed in Horbury (suburb) by the local Vicar.
Believe it, or not, Horbury has a brown tourist sign that declares 'Home of Onward...'
- Wakefield Prison is responsible for the childrens rhyme
'Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush', as one grew in the prisons exercise yard (& still does)
as this is a cycling chat site... there is Beryl Burton, Barry Hoban, Lizzie Armitstead, Ed Clancy, Ben Swift, for starters.....and of course Le Grande Depart in 2014...
Scott Thwaites
The Brownlee brothers
Brian Robinson (Ravensthorpe CC)
Jonny Clay
Van Rainbow (as she was, & from same village as Hoban - I know his sister quite well. My home village too)
Adam Blythe
The Downing brothers (Dean & Russell)
Dave Rayner (whose eponymously named memorial fund allows promising riders to race on the Continent)
John Tanner
Wayne Randle (possibly the best English rider, never to turn professional?)
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Ed Clancys father was my mother-in-laws boss, when she worked at Specsavers
I remember him coming in, at times
And, from Cyclo-Cross/MTB
- 1992 saw the CX World Championships held in Leeds, at Roundhay Park
where Roger Hammond took the rainbow
(curiously, Tom Pidcock, who took it in 2017, lives in Roundhay................)
- Rob Jebb
10 x Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross winner/4 x Three Peaks Fell Race winner
- my near namesake; Richard Thackray, & his brother Robert, were stalwart riders in the National Cyclo-Cross squads (as juniors, & Seniors)
I know them, & their parents (no relation, but I class them as friends)
- Chris Young (multiple National CX champion (& MTB too)
- Pace Research are still based here, up on the North Yorkshire Moors
who, can forget the stir their RC100 caused back in 1990 (I had one)
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A
Wakefield Triathlon Club rider I know had a bike-fit performed by Wayne, & was very pleased about it, he stated that it
was like meeting Elvis!!
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, and.. ...Henderson's Relish...and Michael Palin...
